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Catherine Palace

The Catherine Palace, sometimes called the Summer Palace is a beautiful blue, white and gold monument to the opulent lifestyle of the Russian Tzars. The gardens as well as the inside of the palace are designed for maximum and most perfect luxury, more than 100 kilograms of gold were used in the façade and statues on the roof.

Commissioned by Catherine I in 1717 as a Summer Palace it was later demolished and rebuilt over four years into it’s current Rococo glory by Empress Elizabeth in 1756. Catherine the Great was the next woman to get he hands on the palace and had much of the Russian Baroque; ‘whipped cream’ and gold work stopped in favour of a neo-classical style with Greek revival apartments, hanging gardens and bronze statues. Catherine was the last monarch to live in the palace and it lives on as a monument to Elizabeth’s opulence and Catherine’s power.

Unfortunately two wars ravaged the palace’s insides but enough was rescued to enable restoration work competed in 2003 to faithfully replicate many of the details. Around half of the 57 major apartments have been restored. Hundreds of thousands of tourists visit the palace each year - especially in the summer season and visit the grand apartments, many of which are open to the public.